Podcast: Sustainable upswing in Phoenix still just out of reach

The latest realty studies report for the Phoenix resale home market showed that the typical fall downturn began as expected in August. The 8,790 sales recorded were a decline from the 10,860 recorded at the peak in March, but this August was slow even compared to August 2009. Setting aside the seasonal factor, however, the dynamics of the market continue to remain the same, and that's not especially good news. Most important, foreclosure activity remained a high percentage of total sales. At 45 percent, foreclosures as a percentage of total transactions were at their highest since March. Added up, the hoped-for sustainable upswing in the real estate market appears to be just out of reach for another month. We asked Jay Butler, associate professor of real estate at the W. P. Carey School and author of the monthly Realty Studies report, what's next for this beleaguered market.

The latest realty studies report for the Phoenix resale home market showed that the typical fall downturn began as expected in August. The 8,790 sales recorded were a decline from the 10,860 recorded at the peak in March, but this August was slow even compared to August 2009.

Setting aside the seasonal factor, however, the dynamics of the market continue to remain the same, and that's not especially good news. Most important, foreclosure activity remained a high percentage of total sales. At 45 percent, foreclosures as a percentage of total transactions were at their highest since March.

Added up, the hoped-for sustainable upswing in the real estate market appears to be just out of reach for another month. We asked Jay Butler, associate professor of real estate at the W. P. Carey School and author of the monthly Realty Studies report, what's next for this beleaguered market.